On Tuesday 8th April the Under 16s Boys’ football team retained their Staffordshire County Cup title with an impressive 2-0 victory over a strong Sir Thomas Boughey School side. The first half was a cagey encounter with both defences appearing relatively untroubled. The KEVI’s back four of Scott Winnington, Keenan Powell, Oli McCormick and Jagon Edge provided a solid base on which to build. Malaki Norford was a constant threat going forward and helped the KEVI midfield to gradually take control of the game.

In the second half Ben Douglas, Charlie Clayton and Josh Wilson moved into more attacking positions and it was this combination that saw KEVI take a deserved lead on 53 minutes. Josh Wilson played in Ben Douglas who crossed superbly to the far post where Charlie Clayton was on hand to head home from close range. Sir Thomas Boughey came back strong in search of an equaliser but the KEVI defence continued to hold firm with Keenan Powell playing superbly in the heart of the defence who was being well protected by Connor Pope and Malaki Norford. Indeed it was KEVI who should have doubled their lead when Joseph Shanley shot wide after following in a Josh Wilson effort that was saved by the keeper. Minutes later the influential Norford was forced to come off with a calf injury. This was one of three substitutions made by KEVI as they looked to secure victory. Jack Walker, Jamie Sowerbutts and Callum Hope all came on.

With ten minutes to play Boughey began to build the pressure and created a great chance to equalise. The centre forward was through on goal and looked certain to score but a superb reaction save from the excellent Brandon McEleny in the KEVI goal maintained their slender advantage. From the resultant corner KEVI broke with a fast counter attack, a bouncing a ball was contested by Josh Wilson who got the better of the Boughey keeper, dribbled to the by-line and selflessly squared the ball to Jamie Sowerbutts who calmly slotted the ball home to secure a deserved victory for KEVI.

Moments later the referee sounded the final whistle and KEVI celebrated retaining their County title: “a truly well-deserved victory against a team that had qualified for the National ESFA semi-finals. All the players were excellent on the day. Man of the Match was given to Keenan Powell” said PE teacher and coach, Mr Warrilow.

Acting Headteacher Mr Christey congratulated the team on their outstanding win. “The school is very proud of the team’s achievements on retaining the County Cup title. They have worked hard and have demonstrated their extraordinary talent and skill over the years. They are a credit to the school. Mr Abel, the PE Department and the whole school join me in congratulating the team on their well-deserved win”.

The news comes on the back of the school’s football teams’ impressive wins in the District Cup quarter and semi-finals with the U13s beating Weston Road Academy 2-0 in the semi-finals, the U12s beating Walton Priory School 5-2, the U16s against Sir Graham Balfour School 4-0, the U13s against Stafford Grammar School 4-1, and the U14s and U15s beating Alleyne’s Academy 1-0 and 4-0 respectively.  

Preparations for exams over the Easter break can be crucial in securing success in the final GCSE exams. Many departments have set work to help focus your study.
A number of support sessions are also available over the Easter break (14-25 April) to support students with their exam preparations. Details of these can be found on the School Calendar at www.kevi.org.uk/calendar.

Wishing you a Happy Easter and the best of luck with your exam preparation.

Mr M Malone
Year 11 Progress Leader

The Children and Families Minister, Edward Timpson, has published an open letter to parents/carers on the Department for Education website announcing the reforms being implemented with regard to SEN-D provision in schools. 

To view his letter and a guide for parents/carers about the changes, please go to the SEN-D Changes page on our website at www.kevi.org.uk/sen-d-changes or contact Staffordshire County Council at [email protected]. 

As we approach the end of another busy and exciting term at King
Edward's I would like to take the opportunity to thank pupils, parents and
staff for their hard work and support.

This week alone has seen the launch of our new school website, the first publication of the school newsletter, The Edwardian, a fantastic performance by our BTEC Drama students in "Sweeney Todd" as well as the election of our new Head Boy and Head Girl, Luke Acton and Fran Critchley. Congratulations to them all for their achievements and hard work.

A big thank you to Mrs Gibbs and her army of sports leaders for the many sporting events they have organised for our local primary school network, they have been a great success and by all accounts an enjoyable experience. Well done to Year
10 and Mrs Bentham for the creativity and entreprenuerial talent they have
demonstrated on this year's Business Enterprise Day.

This term has also seen sporting success by our school football teams who are reigning supreme in all age categories of the District Cup quarter finals, very well done to you all and thank you Jordan Talbot for your very informative match report. Our first ever Library Coffee Mornings have also been a great success; thank you to the Student Librarians for their work and committment, to the parents and carers who came in and supported the event and of course to Mrs Brough and the English Department for their organisation of this event and Readathon.

It has been a very successful term for our students and I am proud of all their efforts and achievements. I look forward to welcoming you all back on Monday 28th April for what is set to be another event-packed term, especially as our KS4 and KS5 students sit their Summer Exams.

The staff join me in wishing you all a very pleasant Easter holiday and the best of luck to students in their revision and preparation for the exams.

My very best wishes,

Mr J Christey
Acting Headteacher

Sixth Form Progress Leader, Mrs Gibbs, has announced the election of the school's new Head Boy and Head Girl for 2014-15. Luke Acton and Fran Critchley will take up the roles in September following a vote by all students and staff this week. 
The Head Boy and Head Girl are important student roles in school, responsible for representing pupil voice, managing School Council meetings and being ambassadors for the school and role models for younger pupils. 
Students took part in a secret ballot on Tuesday to decide the new roles with nine Year 12 candidates standing for election including Charlotte Welch, Hannah James, Trudie Ward, Lucy Norton, Jessica Talbot, Jenna Clayton, Adam Copland and of course Luke Acton and Fran Critchley. 
In their manifestos, which set out their aims and visions for the roles, both candidates pledged to work hard to support the progress and learning of younger students.
In her detailed campaign, Fran said "I can offer a friendly face, fantastic leadership skills, a good role model and somebody who listens to your views." She went on to say "I would like to offer a termly questionnaire where students write down their ideas giving you the chance to voice ideas easier. I would also like to promote recycling and improve participation in sport".
New Head Boy, Luke, added "I feel that the position of Head Boy should be filled by someone who has a clear vision of what they want changing in the school to benefit you, and someone who will take on all of your views to change what you want. I would welcome any other suggestions if I was to be elected, and would aim to act on any of them in an enthusiastic and positive manner to create a better school environment for everyone."
The successful candidates will replace the outgoing Head Boy and Head Girl Callum Griffiths and Kate Pilling who will be leaving for university after completing their A Levels in June. 
Acting Headteacher Mr Christey gave the new Head Boy and Girl his congratulations and wished them "success in their new and important roles in school". 

The rebranding of our school news and communications is almost complete with the first issue of The Edwardian due for release on Thursday. The website however is by far the most anticipated and eagerly awaited change. The new school website boasts a new, completely redesigned, user interface; making the website user-friendly and easy to operate, where all the essential functions are easily accessible. Other noticeable features include the VLE parent portal allowing parents to view their child’s progress in lessons, details on reporting pupil absences, viewing data about the school’s progress, letters home and other useful links and information for students, parents and visitors. Along with this the website presents a calendar, showing all of the upcoming events and clubs on the school calendar, as well as school news, to ensure that you get the most out of school life. Pupils and staff love the changes that have been made to the website. We have interviewed some pupils to find out what they think of our new website.

“The new website offers a great, user friendly layout, that’s easy to navigate” James Chadwick, 10ACS

We would also love to know your views. If you would like raise any questions or issues with the new school website, or if you would simply like to make a suggestion, please don’t hesitate to contact us via the contact page of the new website.

Report by Daniel Arthur Y10

Last week, the current Year 10s completed their first full internally-assessed mock exams. The exams included a plethora of subjects including the core Maths and Science and extended to Business Studies, Geography, History and Health and Social Care. Although the Year 10s have been assessed in exam conditions, some said that these felt scarier as they brought them one step closer to the real exams.

I caught up with three pupils: Jamie Bright, Katie Myatt and Joel McCamley to get their views on the recent mocks:

Do you feel like the mocks will help you in your real exams?
Jamie: Most likely
Katie: Yes
Joel: Most likely

Now that the exams are over, we can all enjoy a great sigh of relief! And to prove it, I’ve prepared some ‘hilarious’ exam puns and jokes:

Q: What did one child in an exam say to the other?
A:

Q: Why are questions on gravity the easiest?
A: They’re so attractive


Report by Kadir Guler Y10

Over the last few months, Year 9 students have been studying World War II but their most recent topic has been all about the Holocaust.

This tragedy happened between January 30, 1933 and May 8, 1945. During this period around 11 million people were killed, but the heaviest hit was the Jewish Communities where approximately 6 million Jews were killed. This is around ¾ of the whole Jewish population of Europe. In addition to Jews, the Nazis targeted Gypsies, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, and the disabled for persecution. 

To immortalise and remember those who lost their lives during the Holocaust, members of Year 9 created memorials.

These memorials included an excellently presented idea for a memorial garden, a torah memorial that included the words “We Will Remember Them” which were translated into many different languages and a very impressive lighted diorama of a hand rising to meet another through flames.

By Gemma Stewart and Chloe Bromley Y9

U13s King Edward VI High School 4 - 1 Stafford Grammar School

U14s King Edward VI High School 1 - 0 Alleyne's Academy

U15s Alleyne's Academy 0 - 4 King Edward VI High School